It's that time of year. The snow is about to leave us, baseball games will be televised, and demand for ice cream will increase. In theory, higher milk prices, feed costs, and haymaking season will be here before we know it, too. Late in the winter (or early in the spring, depending on your groundhog of choice), the pessimism associated with short, dark days, unforgiving weather, and maybe too much time with family turns into the optimism of what is to come.

Who hasn't heard a dairy farmer complain about their amount of work during hay season? But during early March, the repeated lifting of 40-pound bales for 12 hours a day is a welcome thought. If you're a dairy farmer with no cropland, the routine does not change all that much in the summer. But for those of us in the northland, the frozen pipes, solidified sand, and the frantic call from a ditch full of snow and your employee's car provide plenty of reasons to long for the extended sunlight.

Of course, all that changes if you find time and money to head south (or anywhere, for that matter) for a short vacation. Like a drug for your
attitude, a little getaway often does more for your farm – and mental health – than putting in those last few straining hours of work.

The downside, of course, is the work that remains when we return home. But, if your getaway includes a dairy conference, a tour of other farms, or a meeting with an expert, your "lost" time might be recaptured by the minute you get back. We are lucky to be in an industry with so much shared innovation and inspiration. Are you collecting your fair share?